The present invention relates to a method for surface treating a fluorinated contact lens. The process comprises treating the lens with a hydrogen-containing plasma to reduce the fluorine content of the surface layer, followed by oxidation of the surface to increase its oxygen and/or nitrogen content, thereby improving its wettability or providing chemical functionality for subsequent processing.
Contact lenses made from fluorinated materials have been investigated for a number of years. Such materials can generally be subdivided into two major classes, namely hydrogels and non-hydrogels. Non-hydrogels do not absorb appreciable amounts of water, whereas hydrogels can absorb and retain water in an equilibrium state. Regardless of their water content, both non-hydrogel and hydrogel fluorinated contact lenses tend to have relatively hydrophobic, non-wettable surfaces.
The art has recognized that introducing fluorine-containing groups into contact lens polymers can significantly increase oxygen permeability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,275 to Ellis et al. discloses using a mixture of comonomers including the fluorinated compound bis(1,1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propyl)itaconate in combination with organosiloxane components. As described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,954,587, 5,079,319 and 5,010,141, the fluorination of certain monomers used in the formation of silicone hydrogels has been indicated to reduce the accumulation of deposits on contact lenses made from such materials. Moreover, the use of silicone-containing monomers having certain fluorinated side groups, i.e. xe2x80x94(CF2)xe2x80x94H, have been found to improve compatibility between the hydrophilic and silicone-containing monomeric units, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,387,662 and 5,321,108 to Kunzler et al. Other fluorinated contact lens materials have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,012; U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,279; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,801.
Those skilled in the art have recognized the need for modifying the surface of fluorinated contact lenses so that they are compatible with the eye. It is known that increased hydrophilicity of a contact-lens surface improves the wettability of the contact lenses. This in turn is associated with improved wear comfort of the contact lens. Additionally, the surface chemistry of the lens can affect the lens""s susceptibility to deposition, particularly the deposition of proteins and lipids from the tear fluid during lens wear. Accumulated deposition can cause eye discomfort or even inflammation. In the case of extended-wear lenses, the surface is especially important, since extended-wear lenses must be designed for high standards of comfort over an extended period of time, without requiring daily removal of the lenses before sleep. Thus, the regimen for the use of extended-wear lenses would not provide a daily period of time for the eye to rest or recover from any discomfort or other possible adverse effects of lens wear during the day.
Contact lenses have been subjected to plasma surface treatment to improve their surface properties, with the intent to render their surfaces more hydrophilic, deposit resistant, scratch resistant, or otherwise modified. For example, plasma treatment to effect better adherence of a subsequent coating is generally known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,038 to Letter discloses, prior to coating a silicone lens with sputtered silica glass, etching the surface of the lens with an oxygen plasma to improve the adherence of a subsequent coating. U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,315 to Kubacki discloses a three-step method for coating plastic substrates such as lenses, preferably PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) lenses. The method comprises plasma treating the substrate to form hydroxyl groups on the substrate in order to allow for good adherence, followed by a second plasma treatment to form a silicon-containing coating on the substrate, followed finally by a third plasma treatment with inert gas, air, oxygen, or nitrogen. Kubacki states that pretreatment with hydrogen, oxygen, air or water vapor, the latter preferred, forms hydroxy groups. Neither Letter nor Kubacki discusses the surface treatment of fluorinated contact lens materials in particular.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,575 to Peyman teaches the use of hydrogen/fluorocarbon gaseous mixtures to treat silicone lenses. In Example 2 of Peyman, polydimethylsiloxane lenses are initially treated with a 50% hydrogen/50% tetrafluoroethylene mixture, followed by an oxygen plasma treatment. Peyman states that when it is desired to utilize a halogenated hydrocarbon to perform the plasma polymerization process, hydrogen gas may be added to the halogenated hydrocarbon in order to accelerate the polymerization reaction. In particular, Peyman states that hydrogen may be added to the plasma polymerization apparatus in an amountranging from about 0.1 to about 5.0 volumes of hydrogen per volume of the halogenated hydrocarbon. Peyman does not mention how to surface treat fluorinated materials such as flourosilicon hydrogel or highly fluorinated contact lens materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,435 to Yanighara et al. discloses a plasma polymerization process employing a gas containing at least one compound selected from halogenated alkanes, alkanes, hydrogen and halogens in specific combinations, the atomic ratio of halogen/hydrogen in the aforesaid gas being 0.1 to 5 and the electron temperature of the plasma in the reaction zone being 6,000xc2x0 K. to 30,0000 K. The resulting coating is, in particular, suitable as the protective film for magnetic recording media.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,153,072; 5,091,204; 5,034,265; and 4,565,083 to Ratner disclose a method of treating articles to improve their biocompatibility according to which a substrate material is positioned within a reactor vessel and exposed to plasma gas discharge in the presence of an atmosphere of an inert gas such as argon and then in the presence of an organic gas such as a halocarbon or halohydrocarbon gas capable of forming a thin, biocompatible surface covalently bonded to the surface of the substrate. The method is particularly useful for the treatment of vascular graft materials. The graft material is subjected to plasma gas discharge at 5-100 watts energy. Ratner does not discuss the surface treatment of a fluorinated contact-lens materials.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide a fluorinated contact lens with an optically clear, hydrophilic surface film that will exhibit improved wettability and biocompatibility. It would be further desirable to be able to surface treat a fluorinated hydrogel or non-hydrogel contact lens that would allow its use in the human eye for an extended period of time. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a high-Dk fluorinated ophthalmic lens capable of extended wear for continuous periods of at least 24 hours and, more preferably, to provide a biocompatible lens capable of continuous and comfortable wear for 3 to 30 days without unacceptable corneal swelling or other adverse effects.
The invention relates to a method of treating a fluorinated contact lens comprising the following steps:
(a) treating the polymer surface of the lens with a hydrogen-containing plasma to reduce the fluorine or Cxe2x80x94F bonding content of the lens; and
(b) plasma treating the reduced polymer surface with an oxidizing gas to increase its oxygen or nitrogen content.
This surface oxidation can improve the wettability or biocompatibility of the contact lens. Alternatively, the surface oxidation can provide chemical functionality for subsequent surface-modification processing such as the attachment of hydrophilic polymers (inclusive of oligomers or macromonomers) to the surface of the contact lens. The present invention is also directed to a contact lens that can be made by the above-described method.
As indicated above, the present invention is directed to the surface treatment of a fluorinated contact lens material, preferably either a fluorinated silicone hydrogel material or a non-hydrogel material that is highly fluorinated. The hydrogen plasma treatment of a fluorine-containing material has been found to cause the loss of fluorination and/or Cxe2x80x94F bonding over a surface depth of approximately 74 xc3xa5ngstroms into the material. The hydrogen (being present in excess) is also believed to fill radical sites on the polymer surface allowing chemical reduction of the polymer. Without wishing to be bound by theory, since the plasma gas-phase reactions on the surface of a material are complex, it is believed that typically the hydrogen reacts with fluorine at the surface of the lens, forming HF which can be carried off by a vacuum pump during the process. Thus, the invention utilizes a hydrogen-gas-containing plasma to reduce fluorinated surface chemistries. At the same time, the carbon content (as measured by XPS analysis) tends to increase, allowing improved oxidation in a subsequent plasma oxidation step.
In the case of fluorosilicone materials, the HF formed in the gas phase can be utilized to attack the silicone backbone of the polymer. The fluorine is believed to chemically react with the silicon atoms in the film, thereby forming SiFx species. When such a species has four fluorine atoms (SiF4), the molecule can be pumped off by the vacuum, causing the loss of silicon from the film. At the same time, the large excess in hydrogen molecules causes the addition of hydrogen to the remaining chemistry, the hydrogen further reducing the surface of the lens material. The hydrogen-reduced surface of the lens can then be further modified by the use of subsequent oxidizing plasmas.
The process conditions of the present invention may be substantially the same as those in conventional plasma polymerization. The degree of vacuum during plasma polymerization may be 1xc3x9710xe2x88x923 to 1 torr and the flow rate of the gas flowing into the reactor may be, for example, 0.1 to 300 cc (STP)/min in the case of the reactor having an inner volume of about 100 liter. The above-mentioned hydrogen gas may be mixed with an inert gas such as argon, helium, xenon, neon or the like before or after being charged into the reactor. The addition of halogenated alkanes is unnecessary but not deleterious, and may be present in combination with the hydrogen, preferably at an atomic ratio of less than ten percent of gaseous halogen to hydrogen. The substrate temperature during plasma polymerization is not particularly limited, but is preferably between 0xc2x0 and 300xc2x0 C.
The type of discharge to be used for the generation of plasma is not particularly limited and may involve the use of DC discharge, low frequency discharge, high frequency discharge, corona discharge or microwave discharge. Also, the reaction device to be used for the plasma polymerization is not particularly limited. Therefore either an internal electrode system or an electrodeless system may be utilized. There is also no limitation with respect to the shape of the electrodes or coil, or to the structure or the cavity or antenna in the case of microwave discharge. Any suitable device for plasma polymerization, including known or conventional devices, can be utilized.
Preferably, the plasma is produced by passing an electrical discharge, usually at radio frequency, through a gas at low pressure (0.005-5.0 torr). Accordingly, the applied radio frequency power is absorbed by atoms and molecules in the gaseous state, and a circulating electrical field causes these excited atoms and molecules to collide with one another as well as the walls of the chamber and the surface of the material being treated. Electrical discharges produce ultraviolet (UV) radiation, in addition to energetic electrons and ions, atoms (ground and excited states), molecules and radicals. Thus, a plasma is a complex mixture of atoms and molecules in both ground and excited states which reach a steady state after the discharge is begun.
The effects of changing pressure and discharge power on the plasma treatment is generally known to the skilled artisan. The rate constant for plasma modification generally decreases as the pressure is increased. Thus, as pressure increases the value of E/P, the ratio of the electric field strength sustaining the plasma to the gas pressure, decreases and causes a decrease in the average electron energy. The decrease in electron energy in turn causes a reduction in the rate coefficient of all electron-molecule collision processes. A further consequence of an increase in pressure is a decrease in electron density. Taken together, the effect of an increase in pressure is to cause the rate coefficient to decrease. Providing that the pressure is held constant there should be a linear relationship between electron density and power. Thus, the rate coefficient should increase linearly with power.
Hydrogen plasmas have been found to reduce fluorination by attacking Cxe2x80x94F bonds forming Cxe2x80x94H bonds. In the present invention, the surface chemistry of the fluorinated material is reduced to allow for subsequent oxidation. Such a preliminary reduction was found necessary,in order to reduce or eliminate the delamination of the oxidized surface. While investigating the dynamics of the hydrogen plasma with fluorinated substrates, it was further discovered that the silicone backbone in fluorosilicone materials could be removed by action of the plasma. As mentioned above, it is believed that the hydrogen gas forms HF gas which attacks the silicone backbone, and this is believed to convert much or most of the polymer backbone at the surface to aliphatic carbon species, thus tending to increase the carbon content of the surface. The carbon formed contains a fair amount of stereoregularity, and this carbon structure has lattice vibrations similar to graphite, although some unsaturation was also detected through the use of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). A substantial part of the original Cxe2x80x94F bonding can be removed by the hydrogen plasma modification. By the term xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x94F bondingxe2x80x9d is meant (as in Tables 8 and 9 in the examples below) the total Cxe2x80x94F bonding, whether in xe2x80x94CF, xe2x80x94CF2 or xe2x80x94CF3 groups.
Thus, the fluorine or Cxe2x80x94F bonding content is reduced by at least 25 percent, preferably at least 50 percent, over the first 74 xc3xa5ngstroms of the surface as determined by XPS analysis. The present invention also covers a contact lens, which when in the unhydrated state as is the condition of XPS analysis, has a surface coating characterized by a fluorine or Cxe2x80x94F bonding content within a depth of about 74 xc3xa5ngstroms that is at least 25 percent, preferably at least 50 percent, depleted relative to the bulk material.
The surface of the hydrogen-plasma-treated fluorinated material is further treated by oxidation, to increase its wettability or to provide chemical functionalities (reactive sites) for subsequent coating steps. Suitably, plasma oxidization is accomplished employing an oxygen or nitrogen-containing plasma. For example, the hydrogen-plasma chemically reduced surface can be oxidized by means of a plasma gas containing ammonia, air, water, peroxide, O2 (oxygen gas), methanol, acetone, alkylamines, and the like or combinations thereof.
The oxidization of the surface results in an increase in the nitrogen and/or oxygen content by at least 5 percent over the first 74 xc3xa5ngstroms of the surface as determined by XPS analysis, before further processing of the lens such as extraction or heat sterilization. The present invention also covers a contact lens, which when in the unhydrated state as is the condition of XPS analysis, has a surface coating characterized by an oxygen content within a depth of about 74 xc3xa5ngstroms that is at least 2 mole percent enriched relative to the bulk material, based on XPS analysis.
The invention is applicable to a wide variety of fluorinated contact-lens materials. The fluorine content in the top 74 angstroms of the surface, before or after treatment according to the present invention, can be measured by XPS analysis. See, for example, C. D. Wagner, W. M. Riggs, L. E. Davis, J. F. Moulder, Handbook of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Perkin-Elmer Physical Electronics Division, 6509 Flying Cloud Drive, Eden Prairie, Minn., 1978; D. M. Hercules, S. H. Hercules, xe2x80x9cAnalytical Chemistry of Surfaces, Part II. Electron Spectroscopy,xe2x80x9d Journal of Chemical Education, 61, 6, 483, 1984; D. M. Hercules, S. H. Hercules, xe2x80x9cAnalytical Chemistry of Surfaces,xe2x80x9d Journal of Chemical Education, 61, 5, 402, 1984, which are all hereby incorporated by reference. The determination of the depth of the analysis is based on the following equation:
KE=hxcexdxe2x88x92BExe2x88x92xcfx86
wherein hxcexd=1486.6 eV (electron Volts) is the energy of the photon (e.g., the x-ray energy of the Al anode), KE is the kinetic energy of the emitted electrons detected by the spectrometer in the XPS analysis, and xcfx86 is the work function of the spectrometer. BE is the binding energy of an atomic orbital from which the electron originates and is particular for an element and the orbital of that element. For example, the binding energy of carbon (aliphatic carbon or CHx) is 285.0 eV and the binding energy of fluorine (in a Cxe2x80x94F bond) is 689.6 eV. Furthermore,
(KE)xc2xd=xcex
xcex4=3xcex sin xcex8
wherein xcex8 is the takeoff angle of the XPS measurement (e.g., 45xc2x0), xcex4 is the depth sampled (approximately 74 xc3xa5ngstrxc3x6ms, as in the examples below), and xcex is the mean free path or escape depth of an electron. As a rule of thumb, 3xcex is utilized to estimate sampling depth since this accounts for 95% of the signal originating from the sample.
As indicated above, the method of the present invention is applicable to fluorinated materials and is especially advantageous for the treatment of fluorosilicone hydrogels and non-hydrogels made from highly fluorinated polymers. In general, hydrogels are a well-known class of materials which comprise hydrated, cross-linked polymeric systems containing water in an equilibrium state. Non-hydrogels include elastomers and no-water or low-water xerogels. Fluorosilicone hydrogels generally have a water content greater than about 5 weight percent and more commonly between about 10 to about 80 weight percent. Fluorosilicone hydrogels (i.e., the bulk polymeric material from which it is comprises) generally contains up to about 20 mole percent fluorine atoms and as low as about 1 mole percent fluorine atoms, which to some extent may become enriched near the surface, depending on the manufacturing process such as the hydrophobicity of the lens mold. In one embodiment of the invention, the polymer material contains about 5 to 15 mole percent fluorine atoms, wherein the mole percents are based on the amounts and structural formula of the components in bulk of the fluorinated polymer making up the contact lens. Such materials are usually prepared by polymerizing a mixture containing at least one fluorinated silicone-containing monomer and at least one hydrophilic monomer. Typically, either the fluorosilicone monomer or the hydrophilic monomer functions as a crosslinking agent (a crosslinker being defined as a monomer having multiple polymerizable functionalities), or a separate crosslinker may be employed. Applicable fluorosilicone monomeric units for use in the formation of contact-lens hydrogels are well known in the art and numerous examples are provided in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,321,108 to Kxc3xcnzler et al. and 4,810,764, to Friends et al., which patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. The present invention is also applicable to the fluorinated materials (e.g., B-1 to B-14) in U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,100 to Nicholson et al.
The fluorinated polysiloxane-containing monomers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,108 are highly soluble in various hydrophilic compounds, such as N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP) and N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (DMA), without the need for additional compatibilizers or solubilizers.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cside groupxe2x80x9d refers to any chain branching from a siloxane group, and may be a side chain when the siloxane is in the backbone of the polymeric structure. When the siloxane group is not in the backbone, the fluorinated strand or chain which branches out from the siloxane group becomes a side chain off of the siloxane side chain.
The xe2x80x9cterminalxe2x80x9d carbon atom refers to the carbon atom located at a position furthest from the siloxane group to which the fluorinated strand, or side group is attached.
When the polar fluorinated group, xe2x80x94(CF2)zH, is placed at the end of a side group attached to a siloxane-containing monomer, the entire siloxane monomer to which the side group is attached is rendered highly soluble in hydrophilic monomers, such as NVP. When the hydrogen atom in the terminal fluorinated carbon atom is replaced with a fluoro group, the siloxane-containing monomer is significantly less soluble, or not soluble at all in the hydrophilic monomer present.
Fluorinated siloxane-containing monomers useful in the present invention include those having at least one fluorinated side group, said side group having the general schematic representation (I): 
wherein
z is 1 to 20; and
D is an alkyl or alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and which may have ether linkages between carbon atoms.
Polymeric materials useful in the invention may also be polymerized from monomer mixtures comprising fluorinated siloxane-containing monomers having at least one fluorinated side group and having a moiety of the following general schematic representation (II): 
wherein:
D is an alkyl or alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and which may have ether linkages between carbon atoms;
x is  greater than 0;
y is  greater than 1;
x+y=2 to 1000; and
z is 1 to 20.
More preferred are polymeric materials prepared from monomer mixtures containing fluorinated siloxane-containing monomers having the following general schematic representation (III): 
wherein:
R is an alkyl or alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and which may have ether linkages between carbon atoms;
R1-R4 may independently be a monovalent hydrocarbon radical or a halogen substituted monovalent hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 18 carbon atoms which may have ether linkages between carbon atoms;
x is  greater than 0;
y is  greater than 1;
x+y=2 to 1000; and
z is 1 to 20; and
R5 is a fluorinated side chain having the general schematic representation: 
wherein z is 1 to 20;
D is an alkyl or alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and which may have ether linkages between carbon atoms; and
A is an activated unsaturated group, such as an ester or amide of an acrylic or a methacrylic acid or is a group represented by the general formula: 
wherein
Y is xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94;
Preferably, the fluorinated side group is represented by the formula: 
where
z is 1 to 20.
One preferred fluorinated siloxane-containing monomer, is prepared according to the following reaction scheme: 
where y is 10, 25 and 40;
x+y is 100; and
z is 4 or 6
In still a further embodiment, the fluorinated siloxane-containing monomers are fluorinated bulky polysiloxanylalkyl (meth)acrylate monomers represented by the general schematic representation: 
wherein
A is an activated unsaturated group, such as an ester or amide of an acrylic or a methacrylic acid;
R6 is CH3 or H;
R is an alkyl or alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and which may have ether linkages between carbon atoms;
D is an alkyl or alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and which may have ether linkages between carbon atoms;
x is 1, 2 or 3;
y is 0, 1, or 2; and
x+y=3.
Also preferred are the fluorinated bulky polysiloxanylalkyl monomers of the following formula: 
wherein
R7 is CH2; and
x is 1, 2 or 3;
y is 0, 1 or 2; and
x+y=3.
Another class of fluorinated materials that can be treated by the present invention are highly fluorinated non-hydrogel materials. Highly fluorinated polymer materials have at least about 10 mole percent fluorine atoms, preferably about 20 to about 70 mole percent fluorine, again based on the amounts and structural formulae of the components of the polymer. Such materials include, for example, high-Dk fluoropolymeric rigid-gas-permeable contact-lens articles made from amterials comprising perfluorinated monomers. An especially advantageous (high-Dk) material material comprises an amorphous copolymer of perfluoro-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxole (PDD) with one or more copolymerizably acceptable ethylenically unsaturated fluorinated comonomers, the proportion of perfluoro-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxole in the copolymer being at least about 20 mole percent of the copolymer. The latter contact-lens material may further comprise from 10 to 80 weight percent of one or more other comonomers, for example, selected from tetrafluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene, chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE), vinylidene fluoride, perfluoro(alkyl vinyl)ether (PAVE) having the formula CF2xe2x80x94CFO(CF2CFXO)nRf wherein X is F or CF3, n is 0-5, and Rf is a perfluoroalkyl group of 1-6 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof. Another class of highly fluorinated non-hydrogel materials are xerogels or elastomers, an example of which is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,557 to Kunzler and Ozark.
In one embodiment of the invention, a hydrogen-plasma treated fluorinated polymeric surface is subsequently oxidized by an oxidizing plasma, e.g., employing O2 (oxygen gas), water, hydrogen peroxide, air, ammonia, etc., or mixtures thereof, creating radicals and oxidized functional groups. Such oxidation renders the surface of a lens more hydrophilic and wettable. Optionally further surface treatment can be carried out, for example, the attachment of hydrophilic polymers (including macromonomers and oligomers) as disclosed in the prior art. The attachment of polymers to chemical or reactive functionalities on the surface is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,264 to Janssen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,093 to Kamel et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,959 to Guire. Other patents or literature references teaching the attachment of hydrophilic polymers to the functionalized surface of a material will be known to the skilled artisan.
In practice, contact lenses may be surface treated by placing them, in their unhydrated state, within an electric glow discharge reaction vessel (e.g., a vacuum chamber). Such reaction vessels are commercially available. The lenses may be supported within the vessel on an aluminum tray (which acts as an electrode) or with other support devices designed to adjust the position of the lenses. The use of specialized support devices which permit the surface treatment of both sides of a lens are known in the art and may be used in the present invention.
The plasma treatment, for example hydrogen or hydrogen in an inert gas such as argon, may suitably utilize an electric discharge frequency of, for example, 13.56 MHz, suitably between about 100-1000 watts, preferably 200 to 800 watts, more preferably 300 to 500 watts, at a pressure of about 0.1-1.0 torr. The plasma-treatment time is preferably at least 2 minutes total, and most preferred at least 5 minutes total. Optionally, the lens may be flipped over to better treat both sides of the lens. The plasma-treatment gas is suitably provided at a flow rate of 50 to 500 sccm (standard cubic centimeters per minute), more preferably 100 to 300 sccm. The thickness of the surface treatment is sensitive to plasma flow rate and chamber temperature, as will be understood by the skilled artisan. Since the coating is dependent on a number of variables, the optimal variables for obtaining the desired or optimal coating may require some adjustment. If one parameter is adjusted, a compensatory adjustment of one or more other parameters may be appropriate, so that some routine trial and error experiments and iterations thereof may be necessary in order to achieved the coating according to the present invention. However, such adjustment of process parameters, in light of the present disclosure and the state of the art in plasma treatment, should not involve undue experimentation. As indicated above, general relationships among process parameters are known by the skilled artisan, and the art of plasma treatment has become well developed in recent years. The Examples below provide the Applicants"" best mode for forming the coating on fluorinated lenses.
The present invention is especially advantageous with respect to a contact lens for extended-wear or specialty uses, such as for relatively thick lenses. Extended lenses are lenses capable of being worn overnight, preferably capable of being worn for at least one week, most preferably capable of wear for a continuous period of one week to one month. By xe2x80x9ccapablexe2x80x9d is meant lenses approved by one or more governmental regulatory authorities for such consumer use, for example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in the US or its equivalent in other countries.
Extended-wear lenses require relatively high oxygen permeability. The oxygen-permeability is the rate at which oxygen will pass through a material. The oxygen-permeability Dk of a lens material does not depend on lens thickness. Oxygen permeability is measured in terms of barrers which have the following units of measurement:
((cm3 oxygen)(mm)/(cm2)(sec)(mm Hg))xc3x9710xe2x88x9210
or, alternatively, ((cm3 oxygen)(cm)/(cm2)(sec)(mm Hg))xc3x9710xe2x88x9211
On the other hand, the oxygen transmissibility of a lens, as used herein, is the rate at which oxygen will pass through a specific lens. Oxygen transmissibility, Dk/t, is conventionally expressed in units of barrers/mm, where t is the average thickness of the material (in units of mm) over the area being measured. For example, a lens having a Dk of 90 barrers (oxygen-permeability barrers) and a thickness of 90 microns (0.090 mm) would have a Dk/t or 100 barrers/mm (oxygen transmissibility barrers/mm).
The fluorinated materials of the present invention suitably have an oxygen permeability (Dk) that is suitably greater than 70 barrers, preferably greater than 100 barrers, for example 100 to 200 barrers, or in the case of some perfluorinated materials, as high as 200 to 500 barrers.